Saving Seafood

Fishing Business Phone Survey Underway

January 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries and the University of Florida are teaming up on a phone survey to continue assessing the impact of COVID-19 on commercial/for-hire fishing operations, and on seafood dealers and processors.

Phone survey participants were selected using carefully designed random sample. If you were selected, you will receive a phone call from the University of Florida with a 352 area code. Your response is very important to the success of this survey. It will take less than 10 minutes, and the information you provide is strictly confidential.

The phone survey is a follow-up to a survey conducted during July/August 2020 on economic impacts for the first half of 2020.  The upcoming survey will assist us in assessing  impacts on individual businesses over the entire calendar year.

The first reports using results from last summer’s survey as well as other data can be found here.

For more information on the phone survey, see this bulletin from NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Region.

Read the full release here

Shipping-container shortage hampering seafood exports from Asia

January 22, 2021 — A severe shortage of shipping containers is leading to rising shipping costs and difficulty moving goods, playing havoc with seafood exporters in Asia.

The shortage has been felt by all major exporters in Vietnam, Thailand, China, and India. Data from Vietnamese seafood exporters show that the shipping cost to the European Union rose between 145 percent and 276 percent in January, compared to December last year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA Fisheries reaches out to fishermen by phone; conducting surveys for scientists to assess impacts on commercial/for-hire fishing operations and seafood dealers/processors related to COVID-19

January 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries and our partner, the University of Florida, are teaming up on a phone survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 on commercial/for-hire fishing operations and on seafood dealers and processors. The phone survey is a follow-up to an earlier on-line survey conducted in July and August on economic impacts for the first half of 2020. The upcoming survey will assist us in assessing economic impacts over the entire calendar year.

Survey participants were randomly selected to participate. If you receive a phone call from the University of Florida with a 352 area code, your response is very important to the success of this survey. It will take less than 10 minutes, and the information you provide is strictly confidential.

PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY:

We are using this multi-region survey to inform NOAA Fisheries, the Department of Commerce, Congress, fishery management councils, state fishery managers, and stakeholders about the economic and social impacts that the recent economic downturn has had on the fishing industry.

NOAA Fisheries will draft reports for the public detailing the revenue losses and recovery of fishing-dependent businesses over the past year. Here is a look at what we have already been able to capture and release in a series of snapshot reports. You helped make this information available to us.

Read the full release here

NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries COVID-19 Report Reveals Impact on Seafood Dealers and Processors

January 21, 2021 — The Southeast commercial fisheries were not immune to COVID-19. That’s according to a new report from NOAA that was released on Friday.

NOAA’s report was created to show the impacts from COVID-19 on Southeast Fisheries. In order to show the impact of the pandemic on the Southeast commercial fisheries, NOAA’s analysts reviewed data from January through June 2020. The analysts found that landings revenue for selected federally-managed species (excluding shrimp and menhaden) was down 23% during the first six months of the year when compared to the same period in 2019. According to the report, landings revenue declined 11% in January and February, but then dropped March through May, with April experiencing the largest monthly decline at 48%.

Read the full story at Seafood News

COVID-19 outbreaks shutter two of Alaska’s biggest seafood processing plants during winter fishing season

January 21, 2021 — COVID-19 outbreaks at two of Alaska’s largest seafood processing plants, both in the Aleutian Islands, are shutting down operations just as lucrative crab and pollock seasons get underway.

The remote Trident Seafoods plant in the tiny community of Akutan, 35 miles east of Unalaska, is reporting four coronavirus cases — three processing workers and a galley employee — prompting concerns about additional infections that could be hard to contain.

A separate outbreak at the UniSea plant in Unalaska has the facility on lockdown after 55 workers tested positive for the virus since January, about two-thirds of them during travel quarantine, which is intended to catch positive cases. Forty-five workers were still considered infectious as of Tuesday.

The Trident outbreak is the first for the company’s closed-campus plant there, officials say.

Industry observers expected the start of this winter fishing season to bring a whole new set of coronavirus challenges compared to this time last year.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Scientists to global policymakers: Treat fish as food to help solve world hunger

January 20, 2021 — Scientists are urging global policymakers and funders to think of fish as a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition, and not just as a natural resource that provides income and livelihoods, in a newly-published paper in the peer-reviewed journal Ambio. Titled “Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding,” the paper argues for viewing fish from a food systems perspective to broaden the conversation on food and nutrition security and equity, especially as global food systems will face increasing threats from climate change.

The “Fish as Food” paper, authored by scientists and policy experts from Michigan State University, Duke University, Harvard University, World Bank and Environmental Defense Fund, among others, notes the global development community is not on track to meet goals for alleviating malnutrition. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the number of malnourished people in the world will increase from 678 million in 2018 to 841 million in 2030 if  continue—an estimate not accounting for effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fish provide 17% of the animal protein consumed globally and are rich in micronutrients, essential fatty acids and protein essential for cognitive development and maternal and childhood health, especially for communities in developing countries where  may be the only source of key nutrients. Yet fish is largely missing from key global food policy discussions and decision-making.

“Fish has always been food. But in this paper, we lay out an agenda for enhancing the role of fish in addressing hunger and malnutrition,” says Abigail Bennett, assistant professor in the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University. “We are urging the international development community not only to see fish as food but to recognize fish as a nutrient-rich food that can make a difference for the well-being of the world’s poor and vulnerable. What kinds of new knowledge, policies and interventions will be required to support that role for fish?” she adds.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Alaska sees nearly half-billion dollar loss in commercial fisheries revenue

January 20, 2021 — A federal agency has put some dollar amounts to the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial and charter fishing industries nationwide in the first part of last year.

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a report on the economic impact on the seafood catch and recreational fishing nationwide through last summer. NOAA Fisheries deputy assistant administrator for operations Paul Doremus called the report a snapshot of an industry in transition.

“We’re trying to account in great detail with the data and information in this report on the bearing of COVID-19 on the sector as a whole and provide this in a way that can help businesses and communities understand what has happened, where the losses have been concentrated and to inform long-term recovery and resilient strategies,” Doremus said during a conference call with reporters.

Nationwide, the commercial fishing industry started off 2020 with increases in revenue from seafood sales. But as the pandemic hit in March, that income dropped off 19% compared to the most recent five-year average. Those declines swelled to 45% by July.

Read the full story at KTOO

Seafood, retail sales surged during 2020 holiday season

January 20, 2021 — Retail sales were higher than expected during the 2020 holiday season – and sales of seafood shone as a particularly bright spot.

Frozen seafood was “one of the strongest performers” in the overall supermarket frozen food department, growing 23 percent in December versus a year ago, 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Inaugurated as president, Biden faces host of pandemic-related woes

January 20, 2021 — As Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, 20 January, the seafood and foodservice industries urged the incoming administration to provide additional funding for COVID-19 pandemic-related losses.

Today’s ceremony, making Biden the nation’s 46th president, capped off the tumultuous months between the November elections and Inauguration Day, marred by former President Donald Trump’s legal opposition to Biden’s election, along with a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NEFMC January 26-28, 2021 – By Webinar – Listen Live, View Documents

January 20, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting by webinar from Tuesday, January 26 through Thursday, January 28, 2021.  The public is invited to listen live and provide input during designated opportunities for public comment.  The Council still cannot hold a large, in-person meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

GROUNDFISH FIRST:  The Council’s Groundfish Committee will meet in advance of the full Council on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Once the committee concludes its business and adjourns, the full Council will convene its January 2021 meeting.  Agenda items are listed in the detailed agenda.

PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES:  The Council wants to hear from you.  Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.

  • WRITE A LETTER:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.
  • TALK TO THE COUNCIL:  You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues – one by commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon) and, second, you can speak during the open period for public comment.  Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.
  • OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:  On Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 10:45 a.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda.  Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
    • SIGN UP NOW:  Interested in speaking?  Email Janice Plante at jplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m. on all three days.  The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

  • Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
  • THIS IS KEY!  If you want to speak during opportunities for public comment, you need to: (1) register for the webinar; and (2) actually “join” the webinar.  People who call in by telephone without joining the webinar will be in listen-only mode.  Those who take both steps – register and then join the webinar – will see the meeting screen and be able to click on a “raise hand” button, which will let the meeting organizer know you want to be unmuted to speak.
  • We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way.  Phone numbers are listed on the Help Desk Poster, or just email helpdesk@nefmc.org.  We’ll get right back to you.

WEBINAR CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8321.  The access code is 188-250-972.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC January 26-28, 2021 Webinar Meeting.  Additional documents will be posted as they become available.

THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is availableHERE.

COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS:  Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817,  jplante@nefmc.org.